, from its terminus near
Wellington. SH 2 leaves just north of
Pōkeno, south of central
Auckland. It heads east, crossing the
Hauraki Plains before running the length of the
Karangahake Gorge, a break in the hills between the
Coromandel Peninsula and
Kaimai Ranges. From the mining town of
Waihi it runs southeast, skirting the edge of
Tauranga Harbour, which it crosses on the
Tauranga Harbour Bridge before connecting to the
Tauranga Eastern Link, a four lane toll motorway. After reaching
Paengaroa Junction with , SH 2 reverts to highway status and follows the coast for a further , until it reaches the village of
Matatā. From Matatā it heads slightly inland, crossing the
Rangitaiki plain to the south of
Whakatāne, loops south to
Tāneatua, through the
Waimana gorge and then back north to the coast near
Ōpōtiki. After Ōpōtiki it turns inland, ascending southeast along the valley of the
Waioeka River, then winding up to the Traffords Hill summit. From here it descends into the watershed of the
Waipaoa River following the river valley from
Te Karaka to
Makaraka, just outside
Gisborne, to which it is connected by a short stretch of . It then turns south, passing the
Wharerata Forest and the isthmus of the
Māhia Peninsula, turning west to follow the coast of
Hawke Bay. Close to the mouth of the
Waihua River it heads briefly inland, passing the
Mohaka Forest and
Lake Tūtira before rejoining the coast not far from the junction with at
Bay View. It then joins the
Hawke's Bay Expressway and bypasses the cities of
Napier and
Hastings where the expressway ends at Pakipaki, just south of Hastings. It continues to head inland from Pakipaki, initially southwest to
Waipukurau, then briefly west to follow tributaries of the
Tukituki River upstream. Close to
Norsewood enters the
Tararua District and turns south-west, a direction it maintains for much of the remainder of its journey, crossing undulating country that forms the upper catchment of the
Manawatū River. In
Woodville, SH 2 meets at a
TOTSO intersection. SH 2 continues south along the Mangatainoka and Makakahi rivers through
Pahiatua and
Eketāhuna, crossing into the
Wairarapa valley via the Mount Bruce saddle. SH 2 follows the Wairarapa valley through the towns of
Masterton,
Carterton and
Greytown to
Featherston. The highway then winds through the Remutaka Pass, between the
Remutaka and
Tararua Ranges, crossing into the
Hutt Valley. SH 2 follows the
Hutt River down the valley, passing the cities of
Upper Hutt and
Lower Hutt to the west, to reach the northern end of
Wellington Harbour at
Petone. From central Upper Hutt, SH 2 widens to a
2+1 road before widening further to four lanes divided at
Silverstream, before finally becoming expressway standard with grade-separated junctions south of
Melling. The highway follows the shoreline of Wellington Harbour to
Ngauranga, where the
Wellington Urban Motorway commences at the
Ngauranga Interchange. Here, merges on to the Wellington Urban Motorway from the
Ngauranga Gorge, and SH 2 ends at this point with the Wellington Urban Motorway carrying the SH 1 designation into
Wellington. Although the Ngauranga Interchange is the official end of SH 2, it is signed northbound on SH 1 as far back as the Mount Victoria Tunnel, before it begins. ==Spur sections==